Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Everything’s coming up Milhouse, err, Bacon!

This past week in the realm of bacon has been fantastic.I scored another deal on Maple Bacon Coffee
from Boca Java, so I ordered more; my husband actually thanked me for my
fascination with the Meat Candy, as he hasn’t eaten so well, in well ever (he’s
been my guinea pig on all of my bacon-inspired recipes, and is apparently
really upset about that); this little blog here has gotten a little cult
following from all over the world, including Australia, Germany, UK and Estonia;
and to top it all off, my awesome cousin Heather sent me an Bacon Care Package,
full of bacon candy and bacon oral health tools (floss and toothpicks).Everything’s coming up Milhouse, err, Bacon!

So the care package got me thinking about all the weird bacon
novelty products out there.For me, it
all started when friends of ours gave us Maple Bacon Lollipops for Christmas
one year.At first I was taken aback…I
mean, candy bacon?How good could it
be?Since that little taste of salty/sweet
goodness, I was sold on the concept of Novelty Bacon.Those lollipops have been the standard of
Bacon Epic-ness to which I judge all other novelty bacon products.The lollypops were from a company called
Lollyphile. Check them out!However, not all novelty bacon products are
created equal, as I’ve warned before.Case in point, Bacon Candy Canes.They neither taste like bacon nor candy.They were a far cry from the lollypops, and just not edible in my book.

In response to the Bacon Lollipops we received from our friends,
we in turn gave them a Bacon novelty item for Christmas…Mr. Bacon’s Big Adventure.A meat-based Bacon Board
Game.The concept of the game is to get your little
Bacon character through Meatland and into the frying pan, navigating through
the Mustard Marsh, the Wiener Wasteland, and the Sausage Sea.It’s Meat-Candy Land!Fun for all ages!

The
novelty of bacon is fun, but it can’t hold a candle to the real thing.This post’s recipe is one of my all time
favorites.It reminds me of my
grandmother (as she made these for all holiday meals growing up).I took a spin on her recipe and added
bacon.Hope you enjoy them.The rolls alone, without the bacon are
Out-Of-This-World!!!

Mimi’s
Sweet Rolls with Bacon

You can
use any regular dinner roll recipe you have, however, I like to stick to her
original recipe.She used Pillsbury’s Hot
Roll Mix, found in your baking aisle at your local grocery store.It’s a blue box with a Cinnamon Roll on it.

1 Box
of Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix

1 Egg

2 tbsp
softened butter

1 cup
hot water (between 120 degrees and 130 degrees Fahrenheit)

4-6
slices of bacon

1 &
½ sticks of butter

1 cup
of packed brown sugar

2 tbsp
of honey

Cook
the bacon.Whether it be fried in a pan,
baked in the oven, or nuked in the microwave….we need cooked bacon.Once cooked, drain on a paper towel, and then
break down into small pieces.

For the rolls, combine the flour mix with
the packet of yeast, 1 egg, 2 tbsp of soft butter and 1 cup of hot
water. Mix to incorporate the dough then let it rest for 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.While dough is resting, in a small saucepan,
melt 1 & ½ sticks of butter.Once
melted, over medium heat, add brown sugar and honey, and bring to a slow
boil.It’s important to stir this gooey
concoction frequently, as we do not want the sugar to burn.You only need to cook it long enough to
incorporate the butter, honey and sugar.

After the dough has rested for 5 minutes,
grease a muffin pan and put about a tsp of bacon pieces down, then a couple of
tbsps of the caramel sugar topping, in the muffin tin.Shape the dough into little balls, place on
top of the sugary topping, cover and let rise 30 minutes.

Once the rolls have risen, then pop them
into the oven for 15-20 minutes.Once a
nice golden color is reached on the rolls, pull them out and turn them over
onto waxed paper or parchment paper to cool.You may need to use a spoon to help get the bacon caramel goodness out
of the bottom of the muffin tin, and just spread over the gooey part of the
roll.

I hope that these become a tradition in
your home, as they are in mine!